UNICEF warns of future lost generation in Iraq due to chaos

The United Nations has warned that Iraq is facing a lost generation because of insufficient education and healthcare for citizens who are bearing the brunt of foreign-sponsored militancy gripping the country.

“We’re at risk of losing a generation through the lack of education, health and protection,” Peter Hawkins, representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund in Iraq, told Thomson Reuters Foundation, a UK-based charity, on Wednesday.

“Schools, clinics, water facilities etc are deteriorating further and further which makes the life of children very difficult. (We’re) seeing increasing signs of stunting. Nutrition is becoming a problem,” Hawkins added.

He noted that over 2 million Iraqi children are currently out of school while up to 3 million others have had their education disrupted.

Almost one in five schools has been damaged, demolished or used for other purposes, with classes frequently being overcrowded, the UNICEF official added.